Fuel atomizing and injecting assembly for internal combustion engines



l April 21, 1936- F. D. BUTLER 2,037,702

FUEL ATOMIZING AND INJECTING ASSEMBLY FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINESFiled NOV. 4, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 E 5, I' Fig f y 73 #faim m 2- 21mi/m 1 f IIIINWNNNW ,4 i .,=1111\11 1 h 5+ lr, z 1 f 1 /25 q 70 5 72; U'l/ F 'Q 17 /'f i? 42 L gg, .fj m VD l 5K s 24 8i 'ES A@ I g2 I i f2 627 I /1 Ms 77 1 41 I. l 17 6 3 c Il q i *f 1' 1 y, v 1 11?, 20 I "1. QZZb 50' I n 1 QA `\,v. ZI 5'/ ge 25 xx 92 54 f n I l 4s I b l /a 2l 1| 422 7? if@ "'12 if fr f1;

224% TEVENS; ZMQMM April 21, 1936. f.-` Dl BUTLER 2,037,702

FUEL ATOMIZING ANI-) INJEGTING ASSEMBLY FOR INTERNAL GOMBUSTION ENGINESFiled Nov. 4, 1951l 2 sheets-sheet 2 ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 21, 1936UNITED sTATEs PATENT oFFlcE FUEL ATORIIZING AND INJECTING ASSEM- BLY FORINTERNAL COMBUSTION EN- GINES Frank David Butler, United States Navy',Bremerton, Wash.

Application November 4, 1931, Serial No. 573,008

12 Claims.

(Cl. 12S-139) l (Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amendedApril 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) ing and injecting systems for solid fuelinjection.

engines of the type mentionad and has the following objects in view;rst, to provide a suit'- able combined' atomizing and injecting unitmeans for each one of the cylinders of such an engine for the purpose ofautomatically and simultaneously atomizing and injecting the liquid fuelcharges into their` respective cylinder units by the internalcompression and combustion forces therein and in proper timing relationto the travel of the respective pistons thereof; second, to providemeans whereby said atomizing and injecting units may 'be removed fromtheir respective cylinder units one at a time and replaced with spareunits without necessitating the stopping of the engine; third, toprovide means whereby the stroke and period of operation of theindividual fuel atomizing and injecting units of the several cylindersmay be varied and controlled collectively, externally and remotely fromtheir respective cylinders, in such a manner as to form a unitvcontrolof the entire engine; and nally, to produce a fuel atomizing andinjecting assembly design of the type mentioned which is exceedinglysimple in construction, eiiicient in operation, durable in use,l andwhich may be readily and conveniently applied, removed or replaced invarious designs of the type of engines mentioned.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other objects as mayhereinafter appear, my invention consists in the combination,arrangement and construction of parts hereinafter described, pointed outin the appended claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawingsforming a part hereof, it being understood that various changes may bemade in practice within the scope of the claims, without digressing frommy inventive idea or sacrificing any of the advantages disclosed.

With reference to the drawings; Fig. 1 is a Vertical section of acombined automatic fuel atomizing and injecting unit, as per myinvention, installed in the cylinder assembly of a two-stroke cycle,radial, solid fuel injection aviation engine, the assembly of the unitbeing illustrated in the atomizing and injecting position of trave 1\;Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the fuel atomizer as it wouldappear on the dotted line A--A of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a view as wouldappear on the dotted line B-B of Fig. 2; Fig. 4

ythat illustrated in Fig. 6 with the exception that is a fragmentaryview of similar parts illustrated in Fig. 1 except showing the assemblyof thel atomizing and injecting unit in its closed position of travel;Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view of the liquid fuel supply and the enginecontrol 5 systems; Fig. 6 is a fragmentary horizontal section of thecombined fuel atomizing and injecting unit as it would appear on thedotted line C-C of Fig. 1; and Fig. 7 is a similar view to l0 the formerillustrates the unit as it would appear on the dotted line D-D of Fig.1.

With reference to the symbols of the drawings, similar numeralsrepresent and indicate similar parts in the several views;-The numeral Iindicates the fuel injection plunger member which is secured by athreaded and gasketed t to the valve bonnet 2. Plunger I is providedwith a sliding t Within the cylindrical fuelf. injection chamber 3 ofthe fuel atomizing valve member 4, and adjustable longitudinally in thelatter by varying the adjustment position of the jam nut 5. 'I'he bonnet2 is secured by a threaded and gasketed t to the upper end of the enginecylinder body 6, Fig. 4, and having at its lower end a cylindrical andshouldered lit with the actuating plunger cylinder body member 1 whoseupper -end is provided with an integral enlarged head 1a removablysecured within the lower part of said b'onnet 2 by a cylindrical groovetted with the spring snap retainer member 8. The upper end of plungermember 1 is provided with a seat 30 for the valve disc 9 of theactuating plunger member I0. Surrounding the actuating plunger 1 is aspace forming the annular shaped fuel feed supply chamber II. Theinterior of the valve bonnet 2 is provided with the cylindrical shapeddash pot and spring housing chamber I2. The fuel atomizing tubular valvemember 4 is provided with a longitudinally sliding t inside of theactuating plunger member I0, longitudinally within which member 4extends the injection plunger member I1. The spring retainer collar I3is secured by the' retainer wire I4 to the top of said member 4 whichmember 45 lcontrols fuel supply communication between the fuel,discharge chamber 3 (within the body of member 4 unoccupied by plungerI) and the fuel feed chamber II via, the radial fuel feed holes I5 andannular shaped fuel feed groove I6 inv 50 the disc 9 of the actuatingplunger member I0, and the radial fuel feed holes I1 in said member 4,Fig. 1. The fuel discharge chamber 3 is provided with communication withthe combustion chamber I8 of the cylinder I9 via the radial 55 fueldischarge slots 20, the annular shaped fuel discharge passage 2|, thespiral fuel whirling grooves 22 of the multi-threaded portion 23adjoining passage 2|, the fuel whirling chamber 24 adjoining the ends ofthe grooves 22, and the atomizing valve disc 25 adjoining the whirlingchamber 24 and said combustion chamber I8. The actuating plunger memberI0 is similar in appearance to a poppet valve as shown by theillustrations Figs. 1 and 4 and is provided with a sliding t in theinside of its cylinder body member 1 and surrounds the fuel atomizingvalve member 4. The lower or inner end of plunger I0 is exposed withinthe compression space of its cylinder where said plunger I0 is providedwith a seat 26 for the atomizer valve disc 25 on the lower or inner endof fuel atomizer valve member 4. The top surface of valve disk 9 ofmember. ID is provided with a retainer shoulder 21 for laterallyretaining the ends of the atomizer valve spring 28 and its own retainerspring 29, each disposed within chamber I2 of bonnet 2. The remainingends of springs 21 and 29 respectively bear against said collar I4 andthe bonnet 2. .The actuating plunger cylinder body member 1 is providedwith a tapered and gasketed fit with the engine cylinder body 6, aslidable t about the member I0 and a cylindrical and shouldered tcomprising the seat 30 and disk 9. Annular shaped feed supply pressurerelease chamber 3| is formed in member 1 below the lower edge of seat 30which seat normally forms its upper rim communication between theannular shaped fuel feed heating and pressure cushioning chamber 32(surrounding member. 1) and the fuel feed supply chamber II ismaintained via the fuel transfer holes 33 (Figs. 1 and 7) extendingthrough head 1a of member 1,. The assembly of the combined fuelatomizing and injecting unit is indicated by the numeral 34 and includesall the parts and items indicated by the numerals from I to 33(illustrated in Fig. 4) with the exception of items represented bynumerals 6, I8, I9 and 32, said unit l34 being installed in the cylinderbody 6 in such a manner that it may be removed and exchanged with aspare without necessitating (in multi-cylinder engines) stopping theengine. The fuel pressure stabilizer bellows 35 (which will be describedmore in detail later) is retained in place, during the removal of theunit 34 from the cylinder body 6, by the snap spring retainer ring 36which .latter is provided with a snap fit in the groove within which itis mounted in said cylinder body 6. With reference to all the figures ingeneral, the operation of the automatic combined fuel atomizing andinjecting assembly unit 34 is as fol-- lows;-Liquid fuel under a mediumpressure is supplied to the fuel feed supply chamber II (each oftheunits 34) from the fuel supply tank 31 via the fuel cut out valve 38,(Fig. 5) the fuel strainers 39, the mechanically` operated fuel pumpassembly 40 or the manually operated fuel pump assembly 4I, the fuelmanifold 42, the fuel cut out valve 43 individually for each cylinder,the fuel feed heating and pressure stabilizing chamber 32, and the fueltransfer holes 33.

'Ihe pressure of the liquid fuel (delivered to the l chamber I I asdescribed) plus the tension of the resilient retainer spring 29 tends toretain the disc 9 of the actuating plunger member I 0 in contact withits seat 30, similar to the position in which it is illustrated in Fig.4. The plunger member III remains in the position last mentioned untilsuch time as the pressure of the air charge being compressed in thecylinder I9 by the piston 44 (through the rotation of the crank shaft45) and acting aganst'the area of the stem end of said plunger member I0plus the area of the head of disc 25 of the atomizing valve'member 4, issuch as to 'overcome the mentioned combined pressure of the liquid fueland the retainer spring 29 retaining said plunger in contact with theseat 30, at which latter time said plunger member I0 travels upward oroutward from its closed 'position to its open or spray position oftravel which former position is illustrated in Fig. 4 and which latterposition is illustrated in Fig. l.

Assuming (for example) that the fuel injection chamber 3, adjoining thefuel injection plunger member I, was (by rotating the engine) lled withliquid fuel from the fuel feed supply chamber I I via the radial holesI5, the annular groove I6 and radial holes I1, on the previous closingstroke of the actuating plunger I0, that the tension of the spring 29 isnegligible, that the area of the head of the disc 9 minus the area ofthe small end of plunger I is four times an area of equal diameter tothe stem end of the member I0, that the pressure of the .fuel in chamberII is 115 pounds per square inch and that the air charge in the cylindercombustion chamber I8 has been compressed above the piston 44 to atrifle over 460 lbs. per square inch. Under the foregoing assumedconditions, the actuating plunger I0 with the atomizing valve member 4would, by said pressure exerted on their ends exposed thereto, be causedto travel from the position in which they are illustrated in Fig. 4 tothe position in which they are illustrated in Fig. 1. This movementwould cause the liquid fuel in the fuel injection chamber 3 to beinjected into the cylinder combustion chamber I8, (by the relativelystationary injection plunger I), in a whirling minutely atomized andhighly agitated spray and under an extremely high pressure and velocityvia, the radial slots 29, the annular passage 2|, the spiral fuelwhirling grooves 22 of the threa'led portion 23, the fuel whirlingchamber 24, and between the yieldingly mounted atomizing disc 25 and itsseat 26. As soon as the disc 9 leaves its seat 30 (during the foregoingoperation) the pressure of the fuel in the fuel feed chamber II isequalized on both sides of the said disc, and the area of the stem endof member I0 minus the area of the head of disc 25 must oppose a similararea (at the disc end `of said member I0) equal to the area of the Stemend of said member II) minus the area of the small end of plunger I, thesmaller area and higher pressure at the stem end of said member I0prevails and forces said plunger I 0 to continue to travel away fromseat 30 .until such time as the increasing tension of spring 29 plus theaccumulating fuel pressure in the dash pot chamber I2 outward of disc 9,is such as to stop the outward travel of said member I0. Simultaneouslywith the foregoing described outward travel of the actuatingplungermember I0, the larger area of the head of disc 25 as comparedwith the smaller area of the small end of the fuel injection plunger I(which ratio we will assume is 1 to 8) causing the former to force theatomizing valve member 4 to follow closely behind the actuating plungermember ID in its outward travel, in the meantime the end of the fuelinjection plunger I cuts off communication between the fuel injectionchamber 3 and the fuel feed supply chamber I I by passing over theradial fuel feed holes I1, the latter operation causing the pressure onthe fuel charge in chamber, 3 to accumulate to an assumed pressure ofapproximately eight times the compression and later combustion pressuresin the engine combustion chamber it, and the'fuel charge in said fuelinjection chamber 3 to be injected into said combustion chamber i3 bysaid injection plunger i as previously described. During the foregoingdescribed outward travel of the members il and lil, a small quantity offuel is displaced by said members from the fuel feed chamber li into thechamber 32 and is compensated for in the latter chamber by thecontraction of the pressure stabilizing or pulsating bellows whichlatter has the sides thereof constructed of a thin flexible metal so asto be capable of contracting as the members l and l@ travel outward andexpanding as they travel inward, the pulsating movement of said bellows35 beingvery slight due to the large volumedisplaced by a slightcontracting or expanding movement of the large side areas thereof ascompared with the volume of fuel displaced by said members i and l@ aspreviously mentioned. The bellows and the holes 33 also moderate theshock liable to result from the intermittent flow of the fuel oiloccurring during the periodic movement of members l and iii. During theinward travel of the members l and lil the fuel injection chamber 3 isfilled with a fresh fuel charge from the chambers it and Si via, theradial holes iti, the annular groove it and the radial holes il 'due tothe displacement oi" the plunger il in the' chamber 3 as the member lmoves away from the end of said plunger, and in the meantime thepressure on the fuel i'n the fuel release chamber 3l is completelyremoved due to the fuel suction taken therefrom by the displacement ofplunger i during the period the disc 9 of the member E@ is closing oncommunication between chambers ii and ill by seating on seat tit.

From the foregoing descriptionmf the opera-` tion of the automaticcombined atomizing and injecting assembly unit 3d it is evident that inorder to advance orV retard the starting of the fuel injection periodthereof (and consequently increase or decrease the length of stroke ofthe members il and l@ and increase or decrease the quantity of fuelinjected into the combustion chamber it per stroke of the member fi) itwould only be necessary to respectively decrease or increase thepressure of the liquid fuel being supplied to chambers lli of the units3d, and that by so doing, the power and speed of operation of the entireengine may be successfully controlled externally and remotely from saidunits 3d. iith the foregoing type of control in view, the fuel pumpassembly ill is design ed to furnish a greater quantity of liquid fuelto the fuel manifold l2 than is necessary for fuel injection purposesand of' suicient pressure as to be about one fourth of that of thehighest possible compression pressure obtainable in chambers i3. Withreference to Fig. 5 the construction and operation of the pump assemblyt@ is as follows: llt being understood and apparent to those skilled inthis art that any type of pump could be used that would:

tate with the crank shaft 45 is adapted to. drive the worm wheel 41which latter is secured to rotate with the pump drive shaft 48 whichlatter in turn is adapted to be mounted in the pump casing 49 and tohave secured thereto a wide or first stage drive gear 50 and a narrow orsecond stage drive gear 5i, said gears being adapted to drive the wideand narrow driven gears 52 and 53 respectively, and to be mounted in thegear housings 54 and 55 respectively. Liquid fuel supply and dischargeconnections respectively are supplied between, the fuel supply tank 3land the suction side 54a, of housing 5d," between the discharge side Mbof housing 5d and the suction side 55a of housing 55, and between thedischarge side 55h of housing 55 and the manifold @2. A manuallyoperated plunger type pump assembly lill adapted to furnish a fuelsupply pressure to the manifold [i2 for engine starting purposes is alsoillustrated in Fig. 5 in addition to pump til, and consists of thefollowing;-A suction check valve 56 having communication with thesuction connection 5ta of pump dll; a discharge check valve 5l havingcommunication with the discharge connection 55h of pump lit; a plug typecut out valve member 5t used for hand pump @it connecting purposes; aplunger member 59 adapted to take suction via the checlzvalve t and todischarge via the check valve 5l, to be manually operated upward in thepump barrel t@ by the pump handle 6i and to be operated downward in saidbarrel either manually or automatically by the said handle di or thecoarse pitch resillient spring member @2 respectively, and to be seatedon the seat @t of the pump body member te when not in use.

With reference to Figs. l and 5 in particular,

the object, construction and operation of the fuel pressure regulatingvalve assembly 65 is as follows;-The said valve assembly t5 is a meansof varying the pressure of the liquid fuel in the fuel feed manifold i2and consequently (as previously described) a means of remotely andconveniently controlling the power and speed of the engine while inoperation. The liquid fuel supplied to the fuel feed manifold d2, fromthe fuel supply tank 3l (as previously described) by the pump lli, iscontrolled by the valve assembly S5 through remote controlviafthepthrottle control Wheel t6 and the spring loaded manuallyoperable bell-crank tl, connections being made between the extensionstern d@ of the wheel t6 'and the threaded valve stem t9 of the controlvalve disc lll, and between the fuel return connection 'li and said fuelsupply tank 3l. IThe valve assembly 65 consists of a valve disc l@integral with the threaded valve stem @t and having a travelfrom turningby the guide lock screw 33, is under tension of the resilient spring'itl and lis adjustable by the rotation of the stem td which rotationincreases or` decreases the tension of said spring l@ against said nut'l2 and consequently the tension of the valve disc l@ against its seatl5. To increase the pressure of the liquid fuel in the fuel feedmanifold 32 and thereby decrease the power and speed of the engine, thevalve stern 69 is screwed towards the valve seat l5, vthis operationcauses the nut 'l2 to travel away from the seat 'l5 thereby increasingthe tension` on the spring 14, thus requiring more pressure on the smallend of disc 10 to lift said disc from its seat 15. To decrease thepressure of the liquid .fuel in the fuel feed manifold 42 and therebyincrease the power and speed of the engine, the valve stem 69 is screwedaway from the valve seat 15, this operation causes the nut 12 to traveltowards the seat 15, thereby requiring less pressure on the small end ofdisc 10 to lift said disc from its seat 15. In order to rapidly increasethe speed of the engine, the wheel 66 is `pulled out by hand or pushedout by the spring loaded bell-crank accelerating means 61 which-lattermay be connected up for foot operation via the rod 16. By screwing thestem 69 fairly well in or to about the engine idling control position,the engine may be controlled with the accelerating means 61 without anyfurther adjustment of said stem by the wheel 66. I

The body members of the individual valves 43 are secured to the cylinderbody members 6 by their embracing U shaped bolts 11, and the valveassembly 65 and the manifold 42 are secured to said body members ofvalves 43 by the bolts 18. A replacement of any one of the units 34 maybe accomplished, during the period the engine is operating, by firstclosing the respective fuel cut out valve 43 to the unit 34 that is tobe replaced with a spare unit and then slowly removing the defectiveunit 34 from the cylinder body 6, allowing sufficient time to elapse forthe fuel in chamber 32 to pass into the cylinder I9 via the taperedportion 19 of the member 1 before said unit is finally removed. Thethreaded portion of the member 2 should be considerably longer than thetaperedportion 19 of the member 1 in order to facilitate removals andreplacements of the units 34.

During the operation of the engine, the firing of any one of thecylinder units may be temporarily stopped for test purposes by screwingthe respective fuel injection plunger member I thereof inward out ofadjustment.

The invention herein described may be manufactured and used by orl forthe Government of the United States of America for governmental purposeswithout the payment to me of any rc-yalty thereon or therefor.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A liquid fuel injecting assembly for cylinders of a combustion motorcomprising a valve stem having a valve head thereon and a longitudinalopening therein adapted to supply fuel oil to said valve head, a firstmember surrounding and movably supporting said stem and having a seatfor said valve head, a pin slidably fitting a portion of saidlongitudinal opening, means for supporting said pin, means formovablysupporting the rst member on the cylinder of a combustion motorwith said valve head and an adjacent portion of the first memberextending into and adapted to be moved by the force of compression inthe interior of the compression chamber of said cylinder, a valveelement on the first member removed from the seat for said valve headand adapted when. open to admit fuel oil to said longitudinal opening,`an element of the last stated means having a seat for said valveelement, means for Supplying fuel oil to said valve element, and meansfor opening said valve head and admitting its supplied fuel oil into thecylinder when the first member is moved by said compression. l

2. The apparatus of claim 1 characterized by means for longitudinally,adjustably securing said pin to its supporting means.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 characterized by means for controllinglarger or smaller the volume of fuel oil supplied through the valve headby respectively decreasing or increasing the pressure of the fuel oilsupplied to the valve element. `4. The. apparatus of claim 1characterized by means for supplying fuel oil under pressure to thevalve element, and means for varying low or high the fuel oil pressuresupplied to the valve element for varying respectively greater or lessthe volume of fuel oil supplied through said valve head.

5. The apparatus of claim l further characterized by the means forsupporting said pin being longitudinally adjustable, means for supplyingfuel oil under pressure -to the valve element, and manually adjustablemeans for varying low or high said fuel oil pressure to respectivelyincrease or decrease the volume of fuel oil supplied through said valvehead.

6. 'I'he apparatus of claiml further characterized by said fuel oilsupplying means having associated therewith at each cylinder adjustablemeans for varying low or high the pressure of the supplied fuel oil, andrespectively increasing or decreasing the volume of fuel oil admittedthrough the valve head.

7. In a fuel injecting assembly for association with the combustionchamber of an internal combustion engine, the combination of a plungermounted to move longitudinally and provided with a head adapted to beexposed to and moyed by pressure within said chamber, a valve memberhaving an enlarged valve head mounted to be exposed to andlongitudinally movable by pressure within said chamber and adapted toseat in the head of and to reciprocate with said plunger, a body portionprovided with an inner end adapted to be removably attached to a wall ofsaid chamber, said valve member being tubular and open at its endopposite its said head, a stationary plunger extending into the tubularpart of and adapted to open said valve member when said movable plungeris moved, a valve and valve seat cooperably 4mounted respectively onsaid movable plunger and body portion, means for supplying fuel oilunder pressure to the last stated valve, registerable oil supply ports lin .the movable plunger and valve member intermediate the last statedvalve and the enlarged head of the Valve member, said ports, when thelast stated valve is open, communicate with the tubular bore of saidvalve member and feed fuel oil from the supply thereof to the laststated valve, means for closing said cooperable valve and seat andmoving the movable plunger and valve member toward said combustionchamber.

8. 'I'he apparatus of claim 7 characterized by a spring between thevalve member and the first plunger adapted to normally hold the valvehead against its seat, a second spring adapted to normally hold theplunger valve head against its seat on the body portion, the valve headbeing adapted to open into the compression-combustion chamber, and theplunger valve being adapted to open outwardly and remote from saidchamber.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 characterized by the consumption of thesupplied fuel oil being Lintermittent, and the 4fuel oil supply meansbeing provided adjacent the cooperable valvel and seat with pressureyieldable means movable by the pressure of the fuel oil for stabilizingfluctuations occasioned by said intermittent consumption of fuel oil.

the consumption of fuel oil being intermittent, which subjects said oilto uctuations, and the fuel oil supplying means being provided with afuel oil passage extending'at least partly around said body portion, apressure diaphragm in said passage and yieldable by the pressure of thefuel oil, and said diaphragm having inner and outer diaphragm wallsspaced apart by and secured to an intervening` edge member, there beinga fuel oil space between said diaphragm walls and the Wall of the laststated passage.

11. The apparatus of claim 7 characterized by said valve member beingprovided adjacent its head with helical grooves through which, when saidhead is 01T its seat, the fuel oil is adapted to helically pass lintothe combustion chamber.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 characterized by the fuel pressure supplymeans having a surplus fuel return means Whose inlet is controlled bythe valve comprising a casing, a valve seat therein which forms saidinlet, a valve stem extending through said casing and having a threadedportion and a valve head provided with a seating surface adapted to tsaid valve seat and said head being exposed to the pressure of the fueltending to pass through said seat, a nut on the threaded portion of saidvalve stem, means for preventing the turning of the nut by rotation ofsaid stem, and spring means between said nut and a portion ofthe-casing.

FRANK DAVID BUTLER.

